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Mansfield’s Batson Claims Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Sinclair

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Mansfield’s Batson Claims Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Sinclair
Boater Aaron Batson of Mansfield, Georgia, and Strike-King co-angler Keith Howard of Perry, Georgia.
Perry’s Howard Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (May 9, 2022) – Boater Aaron Batson of Mansfield, Georgia, caught five bass Saturday weighing 20 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Sinclair . The tournament was the second event of the season for the Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division, and the first of a tournament double-header weekend as another event took place on Sunday. Batson earned $5,057 for his victory Saturday.

“I started out fishing water willow, but I knew it had been getting pounded, so I changed it up and started looking for deeper seawalls,” Batson said. “I started with a Trixter Custom Baits jig and a Dock Hopper, looking for deeper seawalls. I stayed in the mid-lake area and worked that jig and a Zoom Ol’ Monster worm.

“I definitely did all my work in the first two hours of the day,” Batson added. “I caught a pretty good limit of 21 pounds or so early on.”

Batson said he changed tactics and worked shell beds and fished a frog in very shallow water in the back of a creek later in the day, but credited the jig with his win.

“I felt pretty good about this tournament after I caught my limit,” Batson said. “The fishing’s been tough here, and it’s been taking a good bag.

“There are some big sticks that fish the Bulldog Division,” Batson added. “It feels great to get my first win.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:        Aaron Batson, Mansfield, Ga., five bass, 20-0, $5,057
2nd:       Stephen Jones, Macon, Ga., five bass, 19-13, $2,528
3rd:       Kip Carter, Eatonton, Ga., five bass, 16-8, $1,685
4th:        Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 15-11, $1,880 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
5th:        Travis Clay, Jackson, Ga., five bass, 15-10, $1,011
6th:        Flint Davis, Leesburg, Ga., five bass, 14-14, $927
7th:        Brad Stalnaker, Eatonton, Ga., five bass, 13-12, $843
8th:        Larry Cason, Newborn, Ga., five bass, 13-7, $758
9th:        Andy Wicker, Cayce, S.C., five bass, 12-8, $832
9th:        Grant Kelly, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 12-8, $632

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Blade Parker of Resaca, Georgia, had a largemouth that weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $780.

Keith Howard of Perry, Georgia, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,528 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:        Keith Howard, Perry, Ga., five bass, 13-1, $2,528
2nd:       David Gibson, Atlanta, Ga., five bass, 12-2, $1,264
3rd:       Mark Brinkman, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 11-3, $717
3rd:       Wesley Mullins, Guyton, Ga., five bass, 11-3, $717
5th:        Nicholas Clark, Lawrenceville, Ga., five bass, 9-8, $506
6th:        Donald Peppers, Good Hope, Ga., five bass, 9-6, $464
7th:        Chandler White, Covington, Ga., five bass, 9-5, $421
8th:        Joe Morgan, Woodstock, Ga., five bass, 9-0, $379
9th:        Austin Lockridge, Canon, Ga., five bass, 8-15, $337
10th:     Robert Enke, Columbus, Ga., five bass, 8-10, $295

Shane Carlton of Akron, Ohio, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $390.

After Saturday’s event, Jerry Brumfield of Cumming, Georgia, led the Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 490 points, while Mark Brinkman of Cumming, Georgia, led the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 484 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 6-8 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Murray in Prosperity, South Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six Regional Championships where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American. The 2022 All-American will be held June 2-4 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the MLF Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Revital Outdoors, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X, YETI and Yo-Zuri.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

B.A.S.S. Founder Ray Scott, The Father Of Modern Bass Fishing, Has Died

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B.A.S.S. Founder Ray Scott, The Father Of Modern Bass Fishing, Has Died

May 9, 2022

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B.A.S.S. Founder Ray Scott, The Father Of Modern Bass Fishing, Has Died

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ray Scott passed away on Sunday, May 8 at around 11:30 p.m. He died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes. Scott was 88 years old.

Scott founded the first national professional bass fishing circuit, the Bassmaster Tournament Trail, in 1967 and the following year founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society — B.A.S.S. — which would grow to become the world’s largest fishing organization.

“Our entire organization was saddened to hear about the passing of our founder, Ray Scott,” said Chase Anderson, B.A.S.S. CEO. “Ray’s passion and vision for bass fishing birthed our entire industry more than 50 years ago when he founded B.A.S.S. and started the first professional fishing tournament series. His legacy is felt to this day and continues to influence B.A.S.S., the world’s largest fishing membership organization, which he started in 1968. Ray’s contributions and impact on conservation and his advocacy and passion for anglers and our sport set the standard for tournament fishing and are something we will always strive to uphold.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the Scott family.”

The bass tournament competition Scott created rewarded anglers who caught the heaviest limits of bass in the three- or four-day events, which served as the proving grounds for rapid advancements in bass boats, outboard engines, fishing tackle, lures and electronics. Everyday anglers began purchasing whatever the bass pros were using, spawning a massive bass fishing industry that today has an economic impact in excess of $125 billion per year and employs more than 800,000 people nationwide.

 

Before Scott began pursuing his dream of organizing America’s bass anglers, the sport was a laid-back, mainly Southern pastime that was largely overlooked by the trout-focused national outdoor media. To serve B.A.S.S. members and to publicize the tournament trail, Scott launched Bassmaster Magazine, which the New York Times described as “the Bible of Bass Fishing,” and which ultimately would be delivered to 650,000 B.A.S.S. members monthly.

In 1984, he and then-Bassmaster Editor Bob Cobb created The Bassmasters TV show, which attracted more than 1 million viewers weekly on The Nashville Network. Aired today on Fox Sports, the program is one of the longest-running and most-watched fishing shows in history.

Not only did Scott help grow the sport of bass fishing, but he also did more than any other individual to preserve it.

In 1972, he debuted the “Don’t Kill Your Catch” campaign and mandated that all tournament competitors’ boats feature an aerated livewell to keep their bass alive.

“I didn’t invent catch and release,” Scott acknowledged, “but we did make it popular in bass fishing, and that changed the sport in so many ways. We preached that a bass is too valuable to be caught only once. We helped fishermen learn how great it felt to catch a 5- or 6-pound bass and then lean over and let it go and watch it swim away, hopefully to be caught again.”

As a result, the catch-and-release ethic caught on so well that more than 90% of all bass anglers today release all or most of the bass they catch.

Scott and his rapidly growing B.A.S.S. organization also crusaded against the industrial pollution of America’s waterways. In 1970 and ’71, Scott filed some 200 anti-pollution lawsuits, drawing national attention to declining water quality and contributing significantly to passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972

He was an early advocate of bass fisheries research, and he campaigned zealously for passage of the federal Wallop-Breaux Sport Fish Restoration Amendment of 1984. When the bill stalled in Congress, Scott’s friendship with then-Vice President George H.W. Bush helped ensure enactment of the amendment. As a result, approximately $375 million in sportfish restoration allocations are provided annually to state fisheries agencies for management, aquatic education and public access projects.

Few individuals have had a more positive impact on boating safety than Scott. Early on, he began requiring tournament competitors to wear personal flotation devices whenever boating, and he convinced manufacturers to make emergency shut-off devices — “kill switches” — standard features on motorboats. In 1994, he was instrumental in passing the comprehensive Boating Safety Reform Act in Alabama, which became the first state to require that boat drivers pass a written exam and obtain a boat operator’s license.

In recognition of his efforts, President Jimmy Carter appointed Scott to the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council, and in 2002, he was inducted into the National Boating Safety Hall of Fame. Scott earned numerous other accolades and honors for his contributions to outdoor recreation over the years.

Field & Stream Magazine listed Scott — along with President Theodore Roosevelt, environmentalist Rachel Carson and naturalist/conservationist Aldo Leopold — among 20 individuals who most influenced outdoor sports during the 20th century.

He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2001, the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 1987. He was named the 1988 Sport Fisherman of the Year by the Sport Fishing Institute.

The elder President Bush picked Scott as his Alabama state chairman during his 1979-80 presidential campaign, and the two remained good friends and fishing companions throughout Bush’s terms as Vice President and President of the United Sates.

Scott’s was a true rags-to-riches story. He was born in Montgomery, Ala., on Aug. 24, 1933, and grew up there during the depths of the Great Depression. His father operated an ice cream cart and his mother worked as a hairdresser to support the family, which grew to include Ray, his brother and three uncles — all living in a one-bedroom home. Scott contributed to the family treasury by delivering groceries on his bicycle, mowing lawns and selling peanuts at baseball games.

Scott suffered from dyslexia, which contributed to his having to repeat eighth grade, but he eventually managed to earn a degree in Business Administration from Auburn University and soon afterward became one of Mutual of New York insurance company’s top salesmen in the Southeast.

In recognition of his successes, Scott received the 2003 Horatio Alger Award, which honors the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity.

After a decade in the life insurance business, Scott had a vision that he might be the one to elevate the national profile of bass fishing to be, as he said, “on par with golf” and worthy of television exposure. That year, 1967, he quit his job and began organizing the first major national bass fishing tournament, the All American at Beaver Lake, Ark. The event was successful enough for Scott to begin holding tournaments at other reservoirs in the South and to launch B.A.S.S. and Bassmaster early in 1968.

His brainchild, the annual Bassmaster Classic world championship, grew from two dozen competitors and about that many spectators at Lake Mead, Nev., in 1971, to become the biggest event in sportfishing over the next half-century. Today, the Classic and related events such as the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo record more than 100,000 fishing fans each year.

He sold B.A.S.S. to an investment group including his executive vice president, Helen Sevier, and other employees in 1986, but he continued to serve as emcee of the Classic for several more years. He later became a consultant and a popular spokesman for numerous companies in the fishing industry, and he launched a successful hunting industry enterprise to market deer feed and related products through his Whitetail Institute.

After a half-century of helping to grow and shape the sportfishing industry worldwide, Scott retired to his farm near Pintlala, Ala., where he remained mostly out of the public eye in the years prior to his death. He is survived by his wife Susan and his four children.

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Mossy Oak Fishing, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

Alexandria’s Stanley Comes from Behind to Win Toyota Series Event on Lake Chickamauga

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Alexandria’s Stanley Comes from Behind to Win Toyota Series Event on Lake Chickamauga
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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (May 8, 2022) – After sitting in 69th place after Day One of the three-day tournament, pro Matt Stanley of Alexandria, Tennessee rallied on Day Two, finishing in 13th place with 29 pounds, 9 ounces going into the final day. On Saturday, Stanley brought another limit weighing 22 pounds, 2 ounces to the scales to win the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at Lake Chickamauga. Stanley’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 51-11 earned him the win by a 1-pound, 11-ounce margin over second-place pro Kevin Meunier of Lamar, Indiana and earned Stanley the top payout of $60,000.

Hosted by Chattanooga Sports, the tournament is the third and final event of the season for the Toyota Series Central Division anglers and will feature the region’s best bass-fishing pros and Strike King co-anglers casting for a top prize of up to $75,000.

Stanley said he is typically hard-headed and tries to win the event on Day One, then ends up struggling toward the end of the tournament. However, he decided to switch up his mindset for this event.

“I fished a little slower during this tournament and made sure I caught five fish each time I went out,” Stanley said. “I just focused on maintaining a solid bag, that way I could have a shot of making it to the final day, then on the final day, I swung for the fences. I went from catching 8-15 keepers per day on the first two days, to only catching five on Day Three, but I dramatically increased my weights.”

Stanley said he threw a variety of baits over the three days, including a ¾-ounce Picasso Inviz R Wire Double Willow Spinnerbait with a 6-inch Culprit Skinny Jerk trailer, as well as a 5-inch Gary Yamamoto Senko, wacky-rigged, in bubble gum color.

“I feel like I got really lucky, getting on a big bite,” Stanley said. “The guys at the top after the first two days had at least one big fish, so I knew that was going to be the key to making it to the top of the leaderboard.”

Stanley said he only caught five fish on the final day, but one of those fish was a 9-pounder that was one of the catches of a lifetime, and that was all he needed.

“I’d been catching the outskirts of a large group of fish throughout the tournament and on Day Three I was finally the only one fishing that group but couldn’t get them to bite anything I was throwing,” Stanley said. “Eventually I had one hit the spinnerbait, so I knew they were bass. I pulled out a Megabass Jerkbait and tied it on 10-pound Seaguar Red Label Fluorocarabon Line on a Lew’s Speed Spool LFS Casting Reel with an iROD Genesis III Series Casting Rod, and they started biting.”

After catching a catfish earlier that morning that had completely wrecked his line and hooks, Stanley said he re-tied his jerkbait and blindly threw it out toward a shallow area, where he got another bite that he was positive was just another catfish.

“It was swimming away slowly, so I just held pressure on it, then it shook its head three times and I realized it was a giant bass. My line started coming up real slow, then the bass jumped about 40 yards from the boat, and we could see how big it was and I said, ‘Oh my God, what a bass.’

“It hit the water, then realized it was hooked and the fight was on. It jumped around and was being super erratic, acting crazy like a smallmouth and jumping several more times,” Stanley continued. “I told my co-angler I couldn’t look at it, because if it came off the hook, I was going to be sick.”

His co-angler netted the bass neatly, and Stanley had his limit – and a 9-pound kicker fish – by 9:30 a.m.

“This win feels great – It’s not really about the money, because I love fishing so much, but catching that 9-pounder made the whole week for me,” said the first time Toyota Series winner. “The trophy, money and bragging rights are an extra bonus, but catching a fish like that is the reason every guy out there started fishing in the first place.

“Everyone wants to win. You aren’t going to need all that money when you’re 100 years old, but you will look back and remember catching a fish like that,” Stanley added.

The top 10 pros on Lake Chickamauga finished:

1st:           Matt Stanley of Alexandria, Tenn., 15 bass, 51-11, $60,000
2nd:          Kevin Meunier of Lamar, Ind., 15 bass, 50-0, $25,500
3rd:          Tommy Brown of Louisville, Tenn., 14 bass, 48-12, $17,000
4th:           Andrew Nordbye of Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 48-7, $15,000
5th:           Cody Nichols of Fayette, Ala., 15 bass, 46-8, $14,000
6th:           Kevin Drake of Cleveland, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-11, $11,500
7th:           Clay Reece of Lexington, Ky., 15 bass, 45-4, $9,000
8th:           Michael Black of Toledo, Ill., 14 bass, 44-15, $8,000
9th:           Carl Gillespie of Old Hickory, Tenn., 15 bass, 44-15, $7,000
10th:        Casey Martin of Brownsboro, Ala., 15 bass, 44-8, $5,000
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro Andrew Johnson of Glencoe, Alabama won the $500 Day One Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division Thursday, bringing a bass weighing 9 pounds, 13 ounces to the scale. Meunier won Friday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass award, bringing a 7-pound, 11-ounce bass to the scale.

Drake took home an extra $1,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Jeremy Bouldin of Kings Mountain, North Carolina won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 44 pounds, 6 ounces. Bouldin took home the top prize package of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on Lake Chickamauga finished:

1st:         Jeremy Bouldin of Kings Mountain, N.C., 14 bass, 44-6, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd:          Anthony Mondo of Ooltewah, Tenn., 13 bass, 32-12, $7,700
3rd:          Pop Catalin of Cookeville, Tenn., 12 bass, 32-1, $6,000
4th:           James S. Burns of Nancy, Ky., 12 bass, 30-7, $4,500
5th:           Richard Arnold of Owens Cross Roads, La., 12 bass, 28-12, $4,000
6th:           Randy Wiggins of Birmingham, Ala., 11 bass, 27-6, $3,650
7th:           Mitch Friedman of Colleyville, Texas, 10 bass, 26-7, $3,000
8th:           Tommy Pritchard of Bargersville, Ind., eight bass, 24-12, $2,250
9th:           Charlie Crouch of Waterloo, Ala., nine bass, 23-8, $1,700
10th:        Andy Vance of Danville, Ind., 11 bass, 23-7, $1,700
The Day One Berkley Big Bass $150 award winner in the Strike King co-angler division, was Michael Corbett of Oxford, Alabama with a 7-pound, 12-ounce bass, while the Day Two $150 award went to Jim Opetaia-Williamson with a 6-pound bass.

The Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at Lake Chickamauga was hosted by Chattanooga Sports. It was the third and final tournament in the Central Division. The next event for Toyota Series anglers will take place on May 19-21 – the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida, hosted by the Visit Lake County, Florida. For a complete schedule, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six divisions and finish in the top 25 – or the top 12 from the Wild Card division – will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 cash. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Championship will be held Nov. 3-5 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by Marshall County Tourism and Sports.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Outlaw Ordinance, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF Toyota Series on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook , Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing

Lufkin’s Hayden Heck Wins Toyota Series Event on Sam Rayburn

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BROOKELAND, Texas (May 7, 2022) – Pro Hayden Heck of Lufkin, Texas, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 18 pounds, 1 ounce to win the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at Sam Rayburn and earn the top payout of $75,300, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus. Heck’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 65-3 earned him the victory by a 2-pound, 7-ounce margin over second place pro Keith Combs of Huntington, Texas, who caught 15 bass weighing 62-12 to finish second.

The three-day bass fishing tournament, hosted by the Jasper-Lake Sam Rayburn Chamber of Commerce, was the third and final event of the regular season for the Toyota Series Southwestern Division Presented by Outlaw Ordnance.

Heck moved to Sam Rayburn two years ago to dedicate himself to becoming a professional angler. He’s spent 4 to 5 days a week out on the lake graphing and learning all it’s nuances. So, he’s put in the time, and Friday, it showed.

“This feels amazing,” Heck said after the win. “I moved out from California to do this, for moments like this. So, it’s crazy it happened. Crazy [to beat Combs]. I mean, I fished with him on the final day of a B.A.S.S. Open as a co-angler a couple years ago, and I won that event. So, it was crazy to be back up on stage with him and to pull this thing off.”

How he was doing it was how many others this week found success – targeting brush piles and hard spots right at the mouths of spawning areas – the first areas the big girls would transition to on their way out from the shallows.

The areas weren’t technically deep, offshore places, but they weren’t close enough to the bank, either. Just 40-50 little sweet spots that Heck would check with his Garmin LiveScope to see if fish were suspended above the piles.

If the fish were there and shot off the bottom when he cranked his Strike King 5XD over their heads, he knew he was going to catch them. Be it on the crankbait, a Roboworm Straight Tail Worm (mean green) on a drop-shot or a rare 6-inch swimbait. However, if they didn’t, they’d just follow his lures in, which is unfortunately what happened a lot on Friday.

“Today, the fish were more in the brush piles with the high sun,” Heck said. “Yesterday’s clouds had them roaming around a bit more off to the sides of the brush piles, which made it better for me.”

Considering he figured it would take 25 pounds to beat Combs, his 18-1 bag had him truly feeling he’d come up short. That is, until he got the surprise he’d dreamed of for two years.

“My heart is still pounding so much,” Heck said while holding the trophy. “I mean, I 100% felt I needed 25 pounds. Keith is a hammer. So, this is just crazy.”

The top 10 pros on Sam Rayburn finished:

1st:          Hayden Heck, Lufkin, Texas, 15 bass, 65-3, $75,300
2nd:         Keith Combs, Huntington, Texas, 15 bass, 62-12, $15,535
3rd:         Brian Schott, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 57-9, $11,640
4th:         Wyatt Frankens, Corrigan, Texas, 13 bass, 52-12, $9,700
5th:         Kevin Lasyone, Dry Prong, La., 15 bass, 52-0, $8,730
6th:         Cole Stewart, Hemphill, Texas, 15 bass, 49-2, $7,760
7th:         Chris Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., 15 bass, 49-2, $6,790
8th:         Jack York, Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 48-10, $5,820
9th:         River Lee, Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 48-2, $4,850
10th:       Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 15 bass, 47-13, $3,880

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro Cal Cameron of Coppell, Texas, won the $500 Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division Wednesday with a largemouth weighing 9 pounds, 3 ounces. Huntington’s Keith Combs earned Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass award with an 11-pound, 5-ounce behemoth.

Heck took home an extra $35,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

James Moore, Jr., of Lampasas, Texas, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Friday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 41 pounds, 6 ounces. Moore took home the top prize package of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on Sam Rayburn finished:

1st:          James Moore, Jr., Lampasas, Texas, 15 bass, 41-6, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd:         Daniel May, La Porte, Texas, 15 bass, 36-11, $4,868
3rd:         Erik Knutson, Saint Croix Falls, Wis., 14 bass, 36-9, $3,894
4th:         James Allen Pruitt, Houston, Texas, 15 bass, 34-12, $3,407
5th:         Brody Hardaway, Broken Bow, Okla., 13 bass, 33-6, $2,921
6th:         Alan Bernicky, Joliet, Ill., 14 bass, 32-3, $2,434
7th:         Joe Lee, Midlothian, Texas, 13 bass, 31-9, $1,947
8th:         Bryan Allen, Conroe, Texas, 15 bass, 31-7, $1,704
9th:         Scott Pickett, Chandler, Texas, 15 bass, 30-9, $1,460
10th:       Kevin Carter, Spring, Texas, 15 bass, 29-4, $1,217

The Day 1 Berkley Big Bass $150 award winner in the Strike King co-angler division, was Donny Davis of Livingston, Louisiana, with a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass, while the Day 2 $150 award went to Justin Overstreet of Poolville, Texas, who weighed in a 7-pound, 2-ounce largemouth.

Now that the three regular-season events in the Toyota Series Southwestern Division Presented by Outlaw Ordnance are complete, pro Kris Wilson of Montgomery, Texas, has won the Toyota Series Western Division Pro Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 744 points, while Robert Chavers of Knoxville, Arkansas, won the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 753 points.

The next event for Toyota Series anglers will take place May 19-21 – the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. For a complete schedule, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains Presented by Outlaw Ordnance, Southern, Southwestern Presented by Outlaw Ordnance and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six divisions and finish in the top 25 – or the top 12 from the Wild Card division – will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 cash. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Championship will be held Nov. 3-5 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by Marshall County Tourism and Sports.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Outlaw Ordnance, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF Toyota Series on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Tiebreaker Lifts Thompson To Victory At B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional On Grand Lake

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Tiebreaker Lifts Thompson To Victory At B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional On Grand Lake

May 6, 2022

Tiebreaker Lifts Thompson To Victory At B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional On Grand Lake

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GROVE, Okla. — Doug Thompson and Tim Carmouche finished in a statistical tie for the lead after Friday’s final round of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional at Grand Lake, each with a three-day total of 42 pounds, 7 ounces.

But because Thompson had the biggest single-day bag between the two of them — a five-bass limit that weighed 18-11 on Day 1 — he was named the victor and earned $5,500.

With a Day 2 bag weighing 13-9 and a final-day limit of 10-3, Thompson also earned a spot in the 2022 Nation Championship in November as the top finishing Arkansas B.A.S.S. Nation boater.

While Thompson has qualified for three Nation Championships previously, with one of those trips ultimately resulting in a ninth-place finish at the 2014 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Guntersville, the Mabelvale, Ark., angler had never won a Regional before Friday.

“I’ve been fishing this since ‘07 and you get to know the guys you have to beat in this thing,” Thompson said. “They were all lined up there this morning and I thought, ‘This is going to be tough.’ I’ve wanted (this trophy) for a long time. This is an amazing program. Guys who aren’t fishing it are missing out.”

Heavy rains throughout practice and the first two days of the tournament caused Grand Lake to change every day. The first day, the lake was well below full pool. Day 2 saw it rise to just above full pool.

On Day 3, the Bassmaster crew was forced to move the weigh-in stage away from the pavilion at Wolf Creek Park as the water rose close to 5 feet overnight and left anglers scrambling to find patterns.

Fishing a mix of rock and wood, Thompson weighed in the second-biggest bag of the tournament on Day 1 in an area where he had not practiced but knew about from a previous tournament. He said several other key areas played a role as well.

He cranked a squarebill around rock each day before flipping a tube at wooded cover.

“I wasn’t expecting that bag. I didn’t touch it in practice because I didn’t want to stick any,” Thompson said. “I just pulled in and it was on. I was able to ride that spot and a couple of other places for the three days.”

On the second day, Thompson had to slow down and use a shaky head and a Senko to catch his limit and maintain his second-place position. By Day 3, several of his spots began to muddy up, including his primary area, and the rock points he had been fishing were completely submerged. The water temperature had also dropped.

Around the corner from his primary area, however, was some cleaner water, and Thompson used a ChatterBait and the tube to secure a limit.

With bags of 16-4, 10-15 and 15-4, Carmouche ended his tournament with a three-day total of 42-7. While he may have lost the tiebreaker for the overall win, the Gonzales, La., native qualified for the Championship as the highest finishing Louisiana boater.

“I can remember exactly how many times I’ve made the state team, but this tournament has always been my crutch,” he said. “I have never done better than 11th overall in these Regionals and never won my state. This is awesome. I’m looking forward to representing Louisiana.”

After spending several days of practice up North, Carmouche spent the final day of practice on the South end of the lake and had 20 keeper bites. That strong bite continued into the first day of the tournament, as he caught 25 to 30 keeper bass on a wacky-rigged Senko and landed in sixth place.

Debris from the storms made it difficult for Carmouche to fish his primary area and he fell to 13th on Day 2 with a smaller limit.

“Down South, they were on beds. With the bad weather we had, you couldn’t really see them the first day. The second day, the water rose and you couldn’t see them, but I knew they were there. They just weren’t as active.”

With water continuing to rise, Carmouche moved to the mid-lake area where the muddy water and clear water began to mix. In the clearer pockets, he found bass holding in 10 to 15 feet of water and used a jig to land his 15-4 bag, the largest of Championship Friday.

“I just got on some deeper ledges and they were aggressive and they were all prespawn females,” Carmouche said. “They are in all stages right now.”

On his way to Grand Lake, Ryan Lavigne was involved in an accident, forcing him to return home and pick up another boat before coming to Oklahoma. Despite the rocky start to the week, the Louisiana boater finished third with a 40-12 total that included bags of 15-8, 14-11 and 10-9.

“I’m very blessed to be where I am at. From a rough start to the trip to a rough practice and then building on what little I found every day,” he said. “I haven’t been fishing much the last few years and it feels good to get back into it and actually compete.”

Day 2 leader Mike Webster earned $500 for catching the Big Bass of the Tournament, a 6-4 largemouth on Day 1.

Thompson took home an additional $500 as the winner of the Garmin Tournament Rewards.

Kansas native Ray Cates took home the victory in the nonboater division with a three-day total of 25-10. After landing in 23rd with 7-5 on Day 1, Cates put together bags of 10-3 and 8-2 the final two days to claim the trophy. Cates has made a name for himself as a nonboater, winning that division at the 2021 Nation Championship on the Ouachita River and nearly winning two years ago at Pickwick Lake as well.

“I missed winning the championship (at Pickwick) by 2 ounces and managed to get the win down in Louisiana. I got back here today and made it happen,” he said.

The top boater and nonboater from each state represented in this week’s event punched a ticket to the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship scheduled for Nov. 9-11 on Pickwick, where three berths will be awarded to the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk. The top boater from the Nation Championship will also earn an invitation to the Bassmaster Elite Series.

The tournament was hosted by the City of Grove.

2022 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional at Grand Lake 5/4-5/6
Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Grove  OK.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Doug Thompson          Mabelvale, AR (AR)      15  42-07  0
1.  Tim Carmouche          Gonzales, LA (LA)       15  42-07  0
3.  Ryan Lavigne           Gonzales, LA (LA)       15  40-12  0
4.  Brandon Pedigo         Lawton, OK (OK)         15  40-11  0
5.  Jared Miller           Norman, OK (CO)         15  40-06  0
6.  Kris Bosley            Amarillo, TX (NM)       15  40-01  0
7.  Mike Webster           Pottsville, AR (AR)     12  39-10  0
8.  Damien Clements        Abbeville, LA (LA)      15  38-15  0
9.  Drew Porto             Greenbrier, AR (AR)     13  38-02  0
10. Logan Latuso           Gonzales, LA (LA)       14  37-06  0
11. Teddy Granier          Thibodaux, LA (LA)      14  36-13  0
12. Christian Gladfelter   Albuquerque, NM (NM)    15  36-09  0
13. Jeremy Montgomery      Overland Park, KS (KS)  14  35-07  0
14. Brian Jones            Conroe, TX (TX)         14  35-03  0
15. Jamie Laiche           Gonzales, LA (LA)       11  33-15  0
16. Brandon Lee            Ratcliff, AR (AR)       13  33-14  0
17. Brock Enmeier          Bixby, OK (OK)          13  33-06  0
18. Cole Findley           Forsyth, MO (MO)        15  33-00  0
19. Johnnie Neil Jr        Warrensburg, MO (MO)    15  32-04  0
20. Harvey Horne           Bella Vista, AR (AR)    11  29-15  0
21. Albert Collins         Nacogdoches, TX (TX)    11  28-04  0
22. Jesse Jordan           Stilwel, KS (KS)        10  26-15  0
23. Bradley Sullivan       Shawnee, OK (OK)        11  26-15  0
24. Ross Roper             Lutcher, LA (LA)        10  25-12  0
25. Kenny Hansel           White Rock, NM (NM)     10  25-09  0
26. Chad Schmidt           Clearwater, KS (KS)     10  24-11  0
27. Robbie McDonald        Little Rock, AR (AR)    9  24-03  0
28. Tyler Wilson           Carlsbad, NM (NM)       10  23-14  0
29. Joe Conway             Colorado Springs, CO (C 7  23-12  0
30. Chris Torkleson        Sand Springs, OK (KS)   10  23-06  0
31. Brody Sheldon          Loveland, CO (CO)       10  23-04  0
32. Branden Garrison       Gladstone, MO (KS)      9  23-01  0
33. Steve Tennison         Lexington, OK (OK)      10  22-15  0
34. Jeffrey Barrickman     Forsyth, MO (MO)        10  22-12  0
35. Paul Willett           Blue Eye, MO (MO)       9  22-07  0
36. Matthew Mesplay        Wichita, KS (KS)        10  22-05  0
37. Byron Albrecht         Waco, TX (TX)           9  21-13  0
38. Neal Normand           Gonzales, LA (LA)       8  21-11  0
39. Cory Leita             Victoria, TX (TX)       10  21-11  0
40. Trevor Scott           Windsor, CO (CO)        10  21-06  0
41. Larry Stoafer          Leavenworth, KS (KS)    9  21-02  0
42. John Haley             Branson West, MO (MO)   9  21-00  0
43. John Sanner            Magnolia, AR (AR)       10  21-00  0
44. Brandon Simoneaux      Lumberton, TX (TX)      8  20-06  0
45. Jakob Calkin           Warsaw, MO (KS)         10  19-15  0
46. Matthew Abeyta         Albuquerque, NM (NM)    8  19-10  0
47. David James            Casa, AR (AR)           8  19-02  0
48. Kris Lee               Coweta, OK (OK)         10  19-02  0
49. Daryl Barberousse      Montrose, CO (CO)       7  18-10  0
50. Jim Coyner             Ofallon, MO (MO)        8  18-03  0
51. Brian Maloney          Osage Beach, MO (MO)    10  18-02  0
52. Tyler Frahm            Kirbyville, MO (MO)     8  17-08  0
53. Ryan Robinson          Bullard, TX (TX)        8  17-08  0
54. Chad Poulsen           Longview, TX (TX)       8  17-05  0
55. Connor Santos          Fountain, CO (CO)       6  17-02  0
56. Grayson Morrow         San Angelo, TX (TX)     9  16-13  0
57. Robert Degraffenreid   Oklahoma Cty, OK (OK)   6  16-02  0
58. Kyle Fontenot          Humble, TX (TX)         6  15-15  0
59. Christopher Shane Gilbert Oldfield, MO (MO)       6  15-08  0
60. Curry Schaubhut Jr     Paulina, LA (LA)        6  15-08  0
61. Ricky Vines            El Dorado, AR (AR)      8  15-08  0
62. Brett King             Kinta, OK (OK)          6  15-04  0
63. Kyle Torkelson         Coweta, OK (KS)         6  15-02  0
64. Jeremy Fuentes         Carlsbad, NM (NM)       7  15-00  0
65. Keltyn Hendrix         Maysville, OK (OK)      7  14-06  0
66. Johnny Johnson         Bloomfield, NM (NM)     6  14-06  0
67. Jayce Newell           Damar, KS (KS)          6  14-03  0
68. Brian Reinert          Greeley, CO (CO)        7  14-01  0
69. Gabriel Rivera         Portales, NM (NM)       8  13-14  0
70. Josh Cruse             Pocahontas, AR (AR)     6  13-10  0
71. Larry Triplett         Castle Rock, CO (CO)    7  13-07  0
72. Adam Condito           Alamogordo, NM (NM)     6  12-01  0
73. Jeffrey Mooter         Midwest City, OK (OK)   5  09-12  0
74. Garrett Strickland     Prairieville, LA (LA)   3  07-02  0
75. Ryan Heavener          Tulsa, OK (OK)          3  06-11  0
76. Adam Johnson           Pontiac, MO (MO)        3  06-02  0
77. Vershun Tolliver       Columbia, MO (CO)       2  06-01  0
78. Nathan Byerly          Orange, TX (TX)         2  05-11  0
79. Earl Conway            Albuquerque, NM (NM)    2  03-09  0
80. Chuck Harrison         Ft Collins, CO (CO)     0  00-00  0
80. Nathan Pratt           Albuquerque, NM (NM)    0  00-00  0
80. Mark Sawyer            Albuquerque, NM (NM)    0  00-00  0
———————————————————————–

———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1       52       338       881-04
2       47       312       734-09
3       10       82        183-07
———————————-
109       732      1799-04

TEAM STANDINGS Day 3
———————————-
State                Lbs-Oz
1 LOUISIANA            440-02
2 ARKANSAS             353-11
3 KANSAS               341-01
4 OKLAHOMA             329-15
5 TEXAS                320-15
6 MISSOURI             320-03
7 COLORADO             301-02
8 NEW MEXICO           284-00

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 3
———————————————————————–

KANSAS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Jeremy Montgomery    Overland Park, KS           14   35-07  0
2 Jesse Jordan         Stilwel, KS                 10   26-15  0
3 Chad Schmidt         Clearwater, KS              10   24-11  0
4 Chris Torkleson      Sand Springs, OK            10   23-06  0
5 Branden Garrison     Gladstone, MO               9   23-01  0
6 Matthew Mesplay      Wichita, KS                 10   22-05  0
7 Larry Stoafer        Leavenworth, KS             9   21-02  0
8 Jakob Calkin         Warsaw, MO                  10   19-15  0
9 Kyle Torkelson       Coweta, OK                  6   15-02  0
10 Jayce Newell         Damar, KS                   6   14-03  0

OKLAHOMA
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Brandon Pedigo       Lawton, OK                  15   40-11  0
2 Brock Enmeier        Bixby, OK                   13   33-06  0
3 Bradley Sullivan     Shawnee, OK                 11   26-15  0
4 Steve Tennison       Lexington, OK               10   22-15  0
5 Kris Lee             Coweta, OK                  10   19-02  0
6 Robert Degraffenreid Oklahoma Cty, OK            6   16-02  0
7 Brett King           Kinta, OK                   6   15-04  0
8 Keltyn Hendrix       Maysville, OK               7   14-06  0
9 Jeffrey Mooter       Midwest City, OK            5   09-12  0
10 Ryan Heavener        Tulsa, OK                   3   06-11  0

LOUISIANA
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Tim Carmouche        Gonzales, LA                15   42-07  0
2 Ryan Lavigne         Gonzales, LA                15   40-12  0
3 Damien Clements      Abbeville, LA               15   38-15  0
4 Logan Latuso         Gonzales, LA                14   37-06  0
5 Teddy Granier        Thibodaux, LA               14   36-13  0
6 Jamie Laiche         Gonzales, LA                11   33-15  0
7 Ross Roper           Lutcher, LA                 10   25-12  0
8 Neal Normand         Gonzales, LA                8   21-11  0
9 Curry Schaubhut Jr   Paulina, LA                 6   15-08  0
10 Garrett Strickland   Prairieville, LA            3   07-02  0

MISSOURI
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Cole Findley         Forsyth, MO                 15   33-00  0
2 Johnnie Neil Jr      Warrensburg, MO             15   32-04  0
3 Jeffrey Barrickman   Forsyth, MO                 10   22-12  0
4 Paul Willett         Blue Eye, MO                9   22-07  0
5 John Haley           Branson West, MO            9   21-00  0
6 Jim Coyner           Ofallon, MO                 8   18-03  0
7 Brian Maloney        Osage Beach, MO             10   18-02  0
8 Tyler Frahm          Kirbyville, MO              8   17-08  0
9 Christopher Shane Gilbert Oldfield, MO                6   15-08  0
10 Adam Johnson         Pontiac, MO                 3   06-02  0

ARKANSAS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Doug Thompson        Mabelvale, AR               15   42-07  0
2 Mike Webster         Pottsville, AR              12   39-10  0
3 Drew Porto           Greenbrier, AR              13   38-02  0
4 Brandon Lee          Ratcliff, AR                13   33-14  0
5 Harvey Horne         Bella Vista, AR             11   29-15  0
6 Robbie McDonald      Little Rock, AR             9   24-03  0
7 John Sanner          Magnolia, AR                10   21-00  0
8 David James          Casa, AR                    8   19-02  0
9 Ricky Vines          El Dorado, AR               8   15-08  0
10 Josh Cruse           Pocahontas, AR              6   13-10  0

TEXAS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Brian Jones          Conroe, TX                  14   35-03  0
2 Albert Collins       Nacogdoches, TX             11   28-04  0
3 Byron Albrecht       Waco, TX                    9   21-13  0
4 Cory Leita           Victoria, TX                10   21-11  0
5 Brandon Simoneaux    Lumberton, TX               8   20-06  0
6 Ryan Robinson        Bullard, TX                 8   17-08  0
7 Chad Poulsen         Longview, TX                8   17-05  0
8 Grayson Morrow       San Angelo, TX              9   16-13  0
9 Kyle Fontenot        Humble, TX                  6   15-15  0
10 Nathan Byerly        Orange, TX                  2   05-11  0

NEW MEXICO
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Kris Bosley          Amarillo, TX                15   40-01  0
2 Christian Gladfelter Albuquerque, NM             15   36-09  0
3 Kenny Hansel         White Rock, NM              10   25-09  0
4 Tyler Wilson         Carlsbad, NM                10   23-14  0
5 Matthew Abeyta       Albuquerque, NM             8   19-10  0
6 Jeremy Fuentes       Carlsbad, NM                7   15-00  0
7 Johnny Johnson       Bloomfield, NM              6   14-06  0
8 Gabriel Rivera       Portales, NM                8   13-14  0
9 Adam Condito         Alamogordo, NM              6   12-01  0
10 Earl Conway          Albuquerque, NM             2   03-09  0
11 Nathan Pratt         Albuquerque, NM             0   00-00  0
11 Mark Sawyer          Albuquerque, NM             0   00-00  0

COLORADO
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Jared Miller         Norman, OK                  15   40-06  0
2 Joe Conway           Colorado Springs, CO        7   23-12  0
3 Brody Sheldon        Loveland, CO                10   23-04  0
4 Trevor Scott         Windsor, CO                 10   21-06  0
5 Daryl Barberousse    Montrose, CO                7   18-10  0
6 Connor Santos        Fountain, CO                6   17-02  0
7 Brian Reinert        Greeley, CO                 7   14-01  0
8 Larry Triplett       Castle Rock, CO             7   13-07  0
9 Vershun Tolliver     Columbia, MO                2   06-01  0
10 Chuck Harrison       Ft Collins, CO              0   00-00  0

2022 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional at Grand Lake 5/4-5/6
Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Grove  OK.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Ray Cates              Overland Park, KS (KS)  9  25-10  0
2.  Hieu Nguyen            Stillwater, OK (OK)     9  24-01  0
3.  Tristan Pierce         Hollister, MO (MO)      8  21-01  0
4.  David Porter           Rockwall, TX (TX)       8  20-09  0
5.  Nathan Fideldy         Springfield, MO (KS)    9  20-07  0
6.  Jon Pollock            Lakewood, CO (CO)       9  20-03  0
7.  Dwight Minogue         Benton, LA (LA)         9  20-03  0
8.  Ben Parker             St. Amant, LA (LA)      7  20-02  0
9.  Jason Campbell         Berwick, LA (LA)        7  19-09  0
10. Michael Arndt          Potosi, MO (MO)         8  19-07  0
11. Samuel Granberry       Conroe, TX (TX)         7  19-05  0
12. Mitch Thomas           Warrenton, MO (MO)      6  19-04  0
13. Billy Freeny           Sperry, OK (OK)         7  18-06  0
14. Mike Casanova          Frisco, TX (TX)         9  18-06  0
15. Hunter Neuville        New Iberia, LA (LA)     7  18-05  0
16. Terry Wilson           Carlsbad, NM (NM)       7  17-11  0
17. Trey Gulley            Alton, TX (TX)          7  17-07  0
18. Bob Howard             Colorado Springs, CO (C 6  16-09  0
19. Don Evans              Canon City, CO (CO)     7  16-09  0
20. Randal Moyer           Denver, CO (CO)         7  15-14  0
21. Macky Bosley III       Canyon, TX (NM)         6  14-10  0
22. Antonio Vallejos       Colorado Springs, CO (C 6  13-06  0
23. Russell Sturdivant     Dardanelle, AR (AR)     5  13-04  0
24. Peyton Waller          Pine Grove, LA (LA)     6  13-04  0
25. Hunter Ballew          Harrisonville, MO (MO)  6  13-00  0
26. Johnnie Large          Owasso, OK (OK)         6  12-12  0
27. Tony Johnson           Olathe, KS (KS)         6  12-07  0
28. Blake Whelchel         Tupelo, OK (OK)         4  12-02  0
29. Lanny Dooley           Mountain Home, AR (AR)  6  12-02  0
30. Jacob Lewis            Hillsboro, MO (MO)      6  12-02  0
31. Chuck Major            Morganza, LA (LA)       6  11-12  0
32. Justin Apfel           Denver, CO (CO)         5  11-11  0
32. Kyle Klein             Hutchinson, KS (KS)     5  11-11  0
34. Robert Paxton Jr       Flower Mound, TX (TX)   4  11-09  0
35. Dave Garrett           Trinidad, CO (NM)       5  11-08  0
35. Sheldon Roberts        Kingston, OK (OK)       5  11-08  0
37. Ricky-Ray Martinez Jr  Santa Fe, NM (NM)       5  11-06  0
38. Colten Hutson          Edmond, OK (OK)         4  11-04  0
39. Peyton Grizzaffi       Morgan City, LA (LA)    4  11-01  0
40. Jeff Cherne            Valley Center, KS (KS)  5  10-13  0
41. Kirk Albrecht          Wellington, CO (CO)     3  10-10  0
42. Aaron Baldridge        Moore, OK (OK)          4  10-09  0
43. Justin Hebert          Gray, LA (LA)           4  10-08  0
44. Ken Kaczmarek          Benton, AR (AR)         6  10-02  0
45. Adam Gipson            Fort Smith, AR (AR)     5  10-00  0
46. Jeffrey Nolte          Shawnee, KS (KS)        5  09-15  0
47. Chase Jackson          Oklahoma City, OK (OK)  4  09-14  0
48. Mark Hettinga          Fairacres, NM (NM)      4  09-08  0
49. Christopher Ray Gilbert Oldfield, MO (MO)       4  09-04  0
50. Dwyne Guitreau         Morgan City, LA (LA)    4  08-15  0
51. Wes Fleming            Burlington, KS (KS)     5  08-13  0
52. Randy Missildine       Clovis, NM (NM)         4  08-07  0
53. Nathan Lawvey          Bella Vista, AR (AR)    4  08-05  0
54. Ron Darr               Kirksville, MO (MO)     3  08-03  0
55. Chad Donaho            Collinsville, OK (OK)   4  08-03  0
56. Lewis Decker III       McGregor, TX (TX)       3  08-00  0
57. Garry Harner           Milliken, CO (CO)       4  07-09  0
58. Michael Johnson        Crawford, TX (TX)       3  07-03  0
59. Ray Holt               Hollister, MO (MO)      4  07-03  0
60. Brian Newell           Damar, KS (KS)          3  06-15  0
61. Nicholas Kremers       Lamar, AR (AR)          3  06-14  0
62. Jared Wood             Clarksville, AR (AR)    3  06-13  0
63. Bo Ard                 Junction, TX (TX)       4  06-08  0
64. David McAfee           Gravette, AR (AR)       3  06-03  0
65. Travis Bodin           Erwinville, LA (LA)     3  06-02  0
66. Kenny Odell            Cushing, OK (OK)        3  06-00  0
67. Dennis Heusser         Strasburg, CO (CO)      2  05-14  0
68. Brandon Soliz          Robert Lee, TX (TX)     3  05-14  0
69. Randy Knight           Hearne, TX (TX)         2  05-09  0
70. Randall Brecheisen     El Dorado, KS (KS)      2  05-01  0
71. Cliff Purslow          Castle Rock, CO (CO)    2  04-12  0
72. Ken Bromeier           Saint Louis, MO (MO)    2  03-13  0
73. Mick Hays              Iola, KS (KS)           2  03-02  0
74. Shelby Crites          Bearden, AR (AR)        1  02-09  0
75. Mike Estrada           Belen, NM (NM)          1  02-04  0
76. Chelsey Jorde          Clovis, NM (NM)         1  02-01  0
77. Melissa Jarvis         Albuquerque, NM (NM)    1  02-00  0
78. Robert Duggar          El Dorado, AR (AR)      0  00-00  0
78. Danny Fourr            Waterflow, NM (NM)      0  00-00  0
78. Jason Jones            Imperial, MO (MO)       0  00-00  0
———————————————————————–

———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1       42       170       418-01
2       38       166       387-07
3       8        40        86-05
———————————-
88       376       891-13

TEAM STANDINGS Day 3
———————————-
State                Lbs-Oz
1 LOUISIANA            440-02
2 ARKANSAS             353-11
3 KANSAS               341-01
4 OKLAHOMA             329-15
5 TEXAS                320-15
6 MISSOURI             320-03
7 COLORADO             301-02
8 NEW MEXICO           284-00

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 3
———————————————————————–

KANSAS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Ray Cates            Overland Park, KS           9   25-10  0
2 Nathan Fideldy       Springfield, MO             9   20-07  0
3 Tony Johnson         Olathe, KS                  6   12-07  0
4 Kyle Klein           Hutchinson, KS              5   11-11  0
5 Jeff Cherne          Valley Center, KS           5   10-13  0
6 Jeffrey Nolte        Shawnee, KS                 5   09-15  0
7 Wes Fleming          Burlington, KS              5   08-13  0
8 Brian Newell         Damar, KS                   3   06-15  0
9 Randall Brecheisen   El Dorado, KS               2   05-01  0
10 Mick Hays            Iola, KS                    2   03-02  0

OKLAHOMA
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Hieu Nguyen          Stillwater, OK              9   24-01  0
2 Billy Freeny         Sperry, OK                  7   18-06  0
3 Johnnie Large        Owasso, OK                  6   12-12  0
4 Blake Whelchel       Tupelo, OK                  4   12-02  0
5 Sheldon Roberts      Kingston, OK                5   11-08  0
6 Colten Hutson        Edmond, OK                  4   11-04  0
7 Aaron Baldridge      Moore, OK                   4   10-09  0
8 Chase Jackson        Oklahoma City, OK           4   09-14  0
9 Chad Donaho          Collinsville, OK            4   08-03  0
10 Kenny Odell          Cushing, OK                 3   06-00  0

LOUISIANA
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Dwight Minogue       Benton, LA                  9   20-03  0
2 Ben Parker           St. Amant, LA               7   20-02  0
3 Jason Campbell       Berwick, LA                 7   19-09  0
4 Hunter Neuville      New Iberia, LA              7   18-05  0
5 Peyton Waller        Pine Grove, LA              6   13-04  0
6 Chuck Major          Morganza, LA                6   11-12  0
7 Peyton Grizzaffi     Morgan City, LA             4   11-01  0
8 Justin Hebert        Gray, LA                    4   10-08  0
9 Dwyne Guitreau       Morgan City, LA             4   08-15  0
10 Travis Bodin         Erwinville, LA              3   06-02  0

MISSOURI
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Tristan Pierce       Hollister, MO               8   21-01  0
2 Michael Arndt        Potosi, MO                  8   19-07  0
3 Mitch Thomas         Warrenton, MO               6   19-04  0
4 Hunter Ballew        Harrisonville, MO           6   13-00  0
5 Jacob Lewis          Hillsboro, MO               6   12-02  0
6 Christopher Ray Gilbert Oldfield, MO                4   09-04  0
7 Ron Darr             Kirksville, MO              3   08-03  0
8 Ray Holt             Hollister, MO               4   07-03  0
9 Ken Bromeier         Saint Louis, MO             2   03-13  0
10 Jason Jones          Imperial, MO                0   00-00  0

ARKANSAS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Russell Sturdivant   Dardanelle, AR              5   13-04  0
2 Lanny Dooley         Mountain Home, AR           6   12-02  0
3 Ken Kaczmarek        Benton, AR                  6   10-02  0
4 Adam Gipson          Fort Smith, AR              5   10-00  0
5 Nathan Lawvey        Bella Vista, AR             4   08-05  0
6 Nicholas Kremers     Lamar, AR                   3   06-14  0
7 Jared Wood           Clarksville, AR             3   06-13  0
8 David McAfee         Gravette, AR                3   06-03  0
9 Shelby Crites        Bearden, AR                 1   02-09  0
10 Robert Duggar        El Dorado, AR               0   00-00  0

TEXAS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 David Porter         Rockwall, TX                8   20-09  0
2 Samuel Granberry     Conroe, TX                  7   19-05  0
3 Mike Casanova        Frisco, TX                  9   18-06  0
4 Trey Gulley          Alton, TX                   7   17-07  0
5 Robert Paxton Jr     Flower Mound, TX            4   11-09  0
6 Lewis Decker III     McGregor, TX                3   08-00  0
7 Michael Johnson      Crawford, TX                3   07-03  0
8 Bo Ard               Junction, TX                4   06-08  0
9 Brandon Soliz        Robert Lee, TX              3   05-14  0
10 Randy Knight         Hearne, TX                  2   05-09  0

NEW MEXICO
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Terry Wilson         Carlsbad, NM                7   17-11  0
2 Macky Bosley III     Canyon, TX                  6   14-10  0
3 Dave Garrett         Trinidad, CO                5   11-08  0
4 Ricky-Ray Martinez Jr Santa Fe, NM                5   11-06  0
5 Mark Hettinga        Fairacres, NM               4   09-08  0
6 Randy Missildine     Clovis, NM                  4   08-07  0
7 Mike Estrada         Belen, NM                   1   02-04  0
8 Chelsey Jorde        Clovis, NM                  1   02-01  0
9 Melissa Jarvis       Albuquerque, NM             1   02-00  0
10 Danny Fourr          Waterflow, NM               0   00-00  0

COLORADO
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$
1 Jon Pollock          Lakewood, CO                9   20-03  0
2 Bob Howard           Colorado Springs, CO        6   16-09  0
3 Don Evans            Canon City, CO              7   16-09  0
4 Randal Moyer         Denver, CO                  7   15-14  0
5 Antonio Vallejos     Colorado Springs, CO        6   13-06  0
6 Justin Apfel         Denver, CO                  5   11-11  0
7 Kirk Albrecht        Wellington, CO              3   10-10  0
8 Garry Harner         Milliken, CO                4   07-09  0
9 Dennis Heusser       Strasburg, CO               2   05-14  0
10 Cliff Purslow        Castle Rock, CO             2   04-12  0

EIGBRETT CONQUERS LARGE FIELD AT HOBIE B.O.S. ANCHORED BY POWER-POLE LAKE EUFAULA EVENT

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EIGBRETT CONQUERS LARGE FIELD AT HOBIE B.O.S. ANCHORED BY POWER-POLE LAKE EUFAULA EVENT

 

EIGBRETT CONQUERS LARGE FIELD AT HOBIE B.O.S. ANCHORED BY POWER-POLE LAKE EUFAULA EVENT

Cashes $10,500 first-place check. Champion takes second, Stewart third.

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (May 6, 2022) – Stretching 31 miles with 600 miles of shoreline, lush vegetation, cypress forests, deep water, shallow flats and tons of nooks and crannies, Alabama’s Lake Eufaula certainly offers its heavy-hitting largemouth bass plenty of places to hide. Not enough, however, to avoid detection by the elite fleet of kayak bass anglers who pushed out across the hallowed waters here in hopes of making the leader board at the third event of the 2022 Hobie Bass Open Series (B.O.S.) Anchored by Power-Pole.

“It was an exciting and interesting event this weekend as our competitors had to overcome some challenging conditions in pursuit of victory,” said tournament director, A.J. McWhorter. “Overall, it was another great contest as anglers from all over the country showed up to compete, and there was a tight battle for the top three positions. Our winner, Bailey Eigbrett, drove 16 hours to get here from Buffalo, New York, and that really drives home that anyone who enters these events has a chance to win. The recipe for doing that is simple: do your homework before and during the tournament, put your head down, dig in, and fish clean. That’s how you get paid in the Hobie Bass Open Series (B.O.S.) Anchored by Power-Pole.”

That’s exactly the trail Eigbrett blazed in racking up 86.25 inches of bass on Day 1 before adding 85.75 inches on Day 2 to nail down the win with 172 total inches of bass in the two-day catch, photograph and release (CPR) tourney. Perennial contender Ron Champion of Richmond Hill, Georgia finished in the second spot with 167.75 inches of bass while Josh Stewart from Murfreesboro, Tennessee took home the bronze. Eigbrett earned a $10,500 check, Champion received $5,500 and Stewart took home $3,200 as the top 20 places finished in the money. Mississippi angler Brad Case also captured a $500 check for Bassin’ Magazine’s Bassin’ Big Bass honors with a 24.5-inch lunker taken on Day 2 and the top three finishers punched tickets to the Hobie Tournament of Champions (T.O.C.) at Caddo Lake, November 11 – 13, in Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana. The TOC is a three-day 50-angler championship with a $100,000 payout guarantee.

“It was a long drive to get here, but it was worth it,” chuckled the 24-year-old Eigbrett, who was competing in his second Hobie BOS event. “I’ve done well locally, but I wanted to test my skills against the best competitors in the game. Fishing the Hobie BOS Series Anchored by Power-Pole is the way to get that done. I’m thrilled to have done so well against this talented field. To be honest, I was happy just to meet a few of these ‘hammers.’”

Eigbrett is also thrilled to have qualified for the T.O.C. “Just to be in that limited field of 50 anglers is a major accomplishment for any kayak angler,” he said. “Now that I’m in, I’m hoping I can ring up some big A.O.Y. points as well. Those titles – the Hobie T.O.C. and A.O.Y. – are the top rung for kayak anglers who take their bass fishing seriously.”

Eigbrett credited a 7-pound bass that smashed a frog in shallow water during practice with setting him on the path to victory. He originally hoped to locate some large spawning flats and then back off to deeper grass beds nearby to intercept fish coming off the spawn. “I got that big one a frog popped through a shallow weed mat,” he stated. “It convinced me the bass hadn’t moved to deeper water yet, so I started pushing back into the creeks.”

Moving shallow, Eigbrett encountered a heavy shad spawn in the early morning hours. As he pushed deeper into the hyacinth mats, however, he found the shad more scattered and less intense, making it easier for bass to find his baits.

“I was throwing a spinnerbait most of the time,” he revealed, “and my Hobie Pro Angler 12 360 proved clutch to my success. I had to keep my lure within inches of the weed mats to get hit, or actually cut my lure under canopies – that’s when I got slammed. With my Mirage 360 drive, I was able to hold those edges perfectly for cast after cast. I had almost all my fish by 10:00 a.m. on both days. That’s when the shad broke up and the bite died out.”

On Day 1, Eigbrett left the bass biting with four fish on record, hoping to rest the spot as he filled out his daily limit. On Day 2, he returned and focused on the hyacinth bite again to pull a limit before noon. His key this time, however, was noticing a ditch closer to the creek mouth. With water levels dropping, the bass were shifting toward the deeper water and he drilled them across a 50-yard stretch.

It was late in the afternoon on Day 2 when Champion made a serious charge at the leader. He had probed brush piles for a fifth-place tally on Day 1, taking four fish in rapid succession at one spot before letting it rest. With a top-three finish in his crosshairs at the start of Day 2, Champion decided to lean heavy on the piece he had previously rested and the strategy paid off.

“As soon as I got there, I had two nice bass,” he said. “So, I backed off again, picked up a third keeper nearby, and returned to fill my limit before resting it again.”

With about 90 minutes to go, Champion decided to hit a cypress tree surrounded by two feet of water he hadn’t had time to test earlier. In sixth place at the time, he was hoping for a 20-inch fish to bust into the top three. He started skipping his Senko around the trees saw a huge fish swirl on the lure. It turned out to be a massive 22-inch fish. “She was as big around as she was long and must have weighed close to 10 pounds!” he recalled. “I was praying she would stay connected, and you can bet the good Lord and I had a conversation as she dove under the boat. I was blessed to get her in the net.”

That fish moved Champion into second place, and he culled up another solid fish with seconds to go but it just wasn’t enough to catch Eigbrett.

Champion had most of his action fishing a black and blue, 5-inch Senko impaled on size 1/0 Gamakatsu G-Fineness weedless stinger hook. He used 10-pound test Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line to make his wacky worm presentation.

As for Stewart, he managed to climb from 23rd place after Day 1 to a third-place finish. Finding water temperatures on the main lake to be in the low-60-degree range, he fished shallow rip-rap and rocks for a decent limit on Day 1. Working the same basic pattern on Day 2, he spotted Cormorants diving on shad and sent a cast into the mayhem. “I was grinding a crankbait rated for 10-foot depths against the bottom in two feet of water,” he stated. “Every time it bounced off a rock, a bass belted that lure. The fast action didn’t last long, but it helped me collect a nice enough limit to move up the leader board.”

Thinking back on the event, McWhorter called it another Hobie success. “It’s been fun this year to see some new names and anglers who drove across the country at the top of the leader board,” he stated. “It’s great to see these super-talented and competitive kayak anglers rewarded for their efforts, and it reinforces the idea that every entrant has a chance to come out on top at these events. Add in the camaraderie, supportive atmosphere, and opportunity for any entrant to win on this trail, and you begin to see what the Hobie BOS Anchored by Power Pole is all about.”

McWhorter went on recognize the town of Eufaula for its support of the Hobie BOS Series, both last year when they hosted the T.O.C. and with this year’s event. “This really is a fish-minded town with great hospitality and fun places to eat,” he stated. “We are thankful for their support.”

Up next on the Hobie BOS tour is Broken Bow Lake in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, May 14-15.

Lowrance Pro Angler Jesse Wiggins Wins Major League Fishing Stage Four

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Lowrance Pro Angler Jesse Wiggins Wins Major League Fishing Stage Four

Lowrance Pro Angler Jesse Wiggins

Wins Major League Fishing Stage Four

Lowrance pros claimed the top four spots of the championship round

Tulsa, Okla. – Lowrance®, a world-leader in fishing electronics since 1957, announced today that Lowrance pro angler Jesse Wiggins won his first Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour event at the Bass Boat Technologies Stage Four Presented by Bass Cat on Lake of the Ozarks, April 30-May 5, 2022.

Using his HDS-12 LIVE displays, ActiveTarget™ Live Sonar and C-MAP charts, Wiggins brought in 11 bass adding up to 27 pounds, 11 ounces during the championship round on Thursday and claimed the $100,000 prize.

“We all know ActiveTarget is a game changer, but another key thing that helped me get the win this week was the C-MAP charts,” said Wiggins. “I was fishing in pockets, and I was focusing on the deeper parts, so I could look at the C-MAP charts where the contour lines hooked tight to the bay, and I could run straight to it and that’s where I was catching all my fish.”

With this victory, the Alabama pro now has three career wins and has stacked up 11 Top 10 finishes. Highlights of his career include winning three Bass Pro Shops B.A.S.S Opens in an 18-month span in 2016 and 2017.

Additionally, Lowrance pro anglers Dean Rojas, Wesley Strader and Stephen Browning finished the event in second, third and fourth place, respectively.

For more information on Lowrance and its tournament-winning fishfinding technology, please visit www.lowrance.com.

Alabama’s Jesse Wiggins Wins MLF Bass Pro Tour Bass Boat Technologies Stage Four on Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Bass Cat

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Addison, Alabama, Angler Weighs in 11 Bass Totaling 27 Pounds, 11 Ounces to Earn First Career Bass Pro Tour Win and Top Payout of $100,000

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (May 5, 2022) – All week long, Addison, Alabama, pro Jesse Wiggins said that when he closed his eyes, Lake of the Ozarks felt exactly like his home fishery – Lewis Smith Lake in North Alabama. That hometown “feel” was just what Wiggins needed this week. The 32-year-old Alabama angler caught 11 scorable bass Thursday weighing 27 pounds, 11 ounces to win the MLF Bass Pro Tour Bass Boat Technologies Stage Four on Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Bass Cat in Osage Beach, Missouri, and take home the top prize of $100,000.


Link to Photo Gallery of Best Shots from Championship Day
Link to Video of Fish Catch Highlights from Day 6

“Oh my gosh,” said an emotional Wiggins as time expired. “I’m shaking, my videographers shaking, my official is shaking – we’re freaking tore up. I’m just a redneck from Alabama that likes to fish and loves to throw a shaky-head.

“I get here, and the banks look identical to Smith Lake. I mean, identical. And the fish set up identical. It seemed like I could call my shot, all week long.”

Wiggins spent the tournament targeting boat docks with a homemade shaky-head rig. After winning the Group A Qualifying Round, he advanced directly into Thursday’s Championship Round.

“I did exactly what I wanted to do, all week,” Wiggins said. “I grew up throwing a worm – that’s all we did. And we finally get a lake where they’re spawning and they’re biting the shaky-head. When they’re on that thing, I feel like I can win.”

Wiggins shaky-head rig was homemade – he fished both a 1/8-ounce and a 3/16-ounce – and he credited his key bait as being a watermelon-candy-colored Jackall Flick Shake worm.

“I always throw my shaky-heads on my 7-foot, 1-inch extra fast St. Croix Legend Elite rod – medium-heavy – with a Quantum Smoke S3 reel,” Wiggins said. “My line was Seaguar – Smackdown 30-pound braid and a 12-pound (Seaguar) Invisx leader . I worked with 12-pound because the water was dingy, and I was throwing it mainly around docks and cables.

“To come away with a win, first place against these guys – Lord have mercy, I can’t even put it into words,” Wiggins went on to say. “My support system back home – they all sacrifice so much. My wife Haley, River, my mom, Haley’s mom, Haley’s sisters, my grandma, my brothers – it’s crazy how much they sacrifice just for me to come out here and chase these things. I am so happy to win this for them. I can’t wait to bring this trophy back home to Addison.”

The top 10 pros from the Bass Boat Technologies Stage Four on Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Bass Cat finished:

1st:          Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 11 bass, 27-11, $100,000
2nd:         Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., nine bass, 25-4, $45,000
3rd:         Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., six bass, 17-11, $38,000
4rd:         Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 14-0, $32,000
5th:         Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 13-2, $30,000
6th:         Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, four bass, 11-11, $26,000
7th:         Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., four bass, 10-9, $23,000
8th:         Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., three bass, 10-4, $21,000
9th:         Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., two bass, 4-3, $19,000
10th:       Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., zero bass, 0-0, $16,000

Full results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall there were 49 scorable bass weighing 134 pounds, 7 ounces caught by the final 10 pros Thursday.

General Tire pro Mark Rose earned Thursday’s Championship Round $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award – his second Big Bass Award of the event – with a 4-pound, 9-ounce largemouth that bit a Strike King Finesse jig in Period 1. Brookeland, Texas, pro Dakota Ebare earned the $3,000 Berkley Big Bass award for the overall largest bass of the event with his 6-pound, 14-ounce largemouth that he weighed on Day 1 of competition.

After four regular-season events down in the 2022 Bass Pro Tour season, reigning Bally Bet Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler currently leads with 300 pounds, while Jordan Lee sits right behind Wheeler in second place with 284 points. Dayton, Tennessee’s Andy Morgan sits in third with 255 points. Jesse Wiggins currently sits in fourth place with 251.5 points, while Alton Jones, Jr., rounds out the top five with 231 points.

The Bass Boat Technologies Stage Four on Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Bass Cat featured anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The Bass Boat Technologies Stage Four on Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Bass Cat was hosted by Central Missouri’s Tri-County Lodging Association, the Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Council and BassingBob.com. The event showcased 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

Television coverage of the Bass Boat Technologies Stage Four on Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Bass Cat will premiere as two two-hour episodes at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 15 and Saturday, Oct. 22 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram, and  YouTube.

Brian McDonald & Billy Bledsoe Win Phantom Outdoors Invitational Jordan Lake, NC April 30, 2022

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Brian McDonald & Billy Bledsoe Win Phantom Outdoors Invitational Jordan Lake, NC April 30, 2022

Next Phantom is this coming Saturday May 7 at Kerr Lake! Nutbush Ramp in the State Park!

Brian McDonald & Billy Bledsoe win Jordan with 24.62 lbs! They received $2,625.00!

Jacob Moore & Jacob Smith were 2nd with 20.47 lbs and weighed the BF at 7.64 lbs worth $750.00!

Team BF Weight Winnings
Billy Bledsoe – Brian McDonald 6.32 24.62 $2,625.00
Jacob Moore – Jacob Smith 7.64 20.47 $750.00
Josh Hooks – Jaime Fajardo 0.00 2.13
Bryson Peed – Mike Corbishley 6.99 19.05
Todd Sumner – Rich Z 0.00 18.36
John Michenfelder – Daniel Love 0.00 15.66
Clay Ausley – Michael Minken 0.00 12.73
Darrell Curl – Tyler Carrick 0.00 12.22
Ricky Parker – Tanner Norton 4.36 10.25
James Jackson – Mathew Jackson 0.00 5.77
David Farmer – Matt Deese 0.00 0.00
David Jernigan – Paul Warwick 0.00 0.00
Acott Woodson 0.00 0.00

MLF Announces Details for 2022 Wiley X College Fishing Faceoff Events

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MLF Announces Details for 2022 Wiley X College Fishing Faceoff Events

TULSA, Okla. (May 5, 2022) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today the schedule and details for the 2022 Wiley X College Fishing Faceoffs. The Wiley X College Faceoffs – originally launched in 2019 – are single-day tournaments in a four-event series where competitors will fish in an MLF-style catch, weigh, immediate-release format at each event. The College Faceoff tournaments occur on the Saturdays following an Abu Garcia College Fishing competition on the same body of water.

“The Wiley X College Fishing Faceoff events are a great way for our student anglers to feel the excitement and intensity of the SCORETRACKER™ leaderboard and compete in MLF’s catch, weigh, immediate-release format,” said Kevin Hunt, MLF Senior Director of Tournament Operations, College and High School Fishing. “The anglers that competed in last year’s Faceoff events all thoroughly enjoyed competing in them, and I am sure that the anglers that compete in these events will also find them very fun and beneficial.”

The results from the College Fishing tournament the previous day will determine the 20 competitors for the Wiley X College Faceoff, with the top two teams (four anglers) from the top five schools in the regular season tournament qualifying to fish in the ten-boat faceoff the following day.

Coverage will be provided for each Wiley X College Faceoff at MajorLeagueFishing.com and on MLF social media outlets, including interviews and a trophy presentation for top finishers. Top individual teams will be recognized, and the school with the highest total combined weight from their two participating teams will be crowned the Wiley X Faceoff Champions. Sponsor prizes, including Wiley X sunglasses, will be awarded to the top finishers.

2022 MLF Wiley X College Faceoff Schedule

Saturday                     Smith Mountain Lake
June 4                           Huddleston, Va.

Saturday                     Mississippi River
July 30                          La Crosse, Wis.

Saturday                     Lake Erie
Sept. 10                       Sandusky, Ohio

Saturday                     Pickwick Lake
Oct. 22                          Counce, Tenn.

MLF College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top 10 teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open will advance to the following season’s National Championship.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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